


baby, running down to the riptide

by akiaes (orphan_account)



Category: GOT7
Genre: (not really) - Freeform, High School AU, M/M, Running Away, anxious mark, based off of riptide, carefree jackson, mention of jinyoung, mention of their families, slice of life??, sudden spark of inspiration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 06:02:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14098827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/akiaes
Summary: Jackson makes Mark nervous nervous nervous, because he wants to run away from home (and far away from Mark in the process).





	baby, running down to the riptide

**Author's Note:**

> not beta-ed!! sorry for any typos. mm i'm pretty well versed in anxious feelings so i hope it was conveyed well here

Jackson makes Mark nervous nervous _nervous_ , because he wants to run away from home (and far away from Mark in the process).

 

 

Jackson has a nice smile, Mark thinks. The thought alone is enough to make him frown though because Jackson’s not even  _ here _ and he’s stuck in this stupid English class learning about the writing of some dead guys when he’d much rather be in the lunchroom, messing around with his best friend. Mark’s been thinking about Jackson a lot more lately, and sure it might be a crush he’s trying to choke down (or so Jinyoung tells him), but he thinks it’s a lot more of worry of if he’ll even see him the next day.

They’ve been together  _ forever  _ so it’s been a huge struggle to even understand why Jackson wants to run away so badly. He didn’t even offer a chance to run away with him, just a  _ ‘I kind of want to quit school and head to New York City.’  _ New York City, where no one knows him and Jackson knows no one. It’s so stupid though because he won’t be able to get an apartment and why won’t he invite Mark along,  _ he’s  _ the one who’s eighteen and has a car and god. Jackson’s an idiot, Mark thinks.   
  


“Thanks.” Jackson replies dryly when Mark tells him directly, later that day.

“Why do you even want to do this so much? It’s not like you’d even be able to survive there.”

Jackson shrugs. “I don’t know. I kind of just want to.”

The answer is enough to piss Mark the fuck off however, as he flicks Jackson’s forehead off and storms away because really, Jackson’s an idiot. A huge idiot.

 

It doesn’t sit well with him, even when he gets home. He’s just trying to concentrate on his homework and his dumb biology exam he desperately needs to study for but the thought of Jackson just riles him up so much, he can’t help feel his jaw tense into the pillow he hugs close to him. It stills smells like the younger from the last time he visited--a couple of weeks ago--and dropped his master plan.

Jackson scares the fuck out of Mark and Mark absolutely hates it. He misses being scared of dentists and the dark, of pretty girls (or maybe he’s just gay, he finds out at the modest age of thirteen) and starting conversations.

Really, he just wants Jackson to stay with him here, at home. Maybe it’s just Mark being selfish but Jackson’s never kept anything this big from him. He doesn’t know  _ anything _ , just that one day his best friend’s going to pack his bags and move all the way across the country. What’s so wrong with LA? Mark’s so frustrated and he can feel himself turning red but he can’t do anything about it because god, Jackson has to be kidding, right? There’s no way he’d leave everything he’s had for all his life here, right? He has his parents and his fencing competitions, which sure Mark knows Jackson gets sick of sometimes but maybe he could convince him to switch over to basketball with him, and Jackson has his friends and Mark here, and the ridiculously big cul de sac they live in, isn’t that enough? Honestly, Mark feels like he’s been reverted back into the body of his nervous four year old self meeting such a loud but especially unpredictable three year old Jackson Wang.

“Ah, thank you Mrs. Tuan. I’ll be sure to tell him.”

Speak of the devil.

Mark doesn’t want to talk to Jackson though, so he runs to his door and holds the doorknob tight when it moves from the other end.

Two knocks. “Hey? Mark? I wanted to, well uh, hang out.” 

Mark presses his lips tight. Another knock. “Um, are you in there? Your mom said you were up here but you might be sleeping.”

His hands start shaking and  _ of course _ , they always do when he’s nervous but it’s really not welcome because fuck- “Mark? Oh my god, are you holding the door shut?” He laughs but it just makes Mark more nervous because he can see his stupid smile when he laughs even if he’s not right in front of him.

Jackson shifts to Mandarin. “Yien, I brought your favourite,  _ dimsum _ . My mom made it fresh.”

It makes Mark swing the door open, but not to what Jackson expected. He’s angry, really angry, if his red face said anything by it. Mark replies in harsh Cantonese, something that never matches his personality and Jackson kinda wishes he never taught him any of it. “What do you want?”

“To talk. Please.”

Mark’s eyes soften at the English and he sighs, moving out of the doorway to let Jackson through. He really can’t stay mad at the younger for long.

Jackson flops onto the bed, small grin decorating his face. It’s carefree, the least tense he’s seen him all week. Not even a part of him Mark has seen when he was younger--it’s a more mature, grown up smile Jackson’s never shared before. Whatever it is, it manages to make Mark even more anxious.

“Want to go with me?”   
  
The question snaps Mark’s attention quickly. “What?” He pauses for a second. “To _ New York _ ?”

Jackson tries not to smile again but his cheeks puff up and his eyes are lit so bright, they look as if they contain stars. “No silly. To the beach. Next week. It’s spring break and the weather’s getting nice.”

The answer deflates the elder entirely and he lowers to sit on the bed with Jackson. “Oh. Yeah, sure.”

Jackson wraps his hand around Mark’s cold one and leans in close, really close, and god has Jackson always been this pretty? “You’re really nervous, aren’t you. I’m sorry if this is because of me. I’ve been leaving you in the dark lately.”

Mark’s face shifts between at least ten emotions within the next second but he stops at just  _ tired  _ and moves his face to lie in crook of Jackson’s neck. “Yeah, you have.”

“Maybe I should tell you a little more about my plan. Yien, I’ve really wanted to run away since last year. I heard of this big music studio that’s setting up a new place in New York and they’re eager for fresh, upcoming artists to sign. I’ve been getting good feedback on my Soundcloud”--  _ Wait. What? Soundcloud?  _ \--“and honestly I think I could give it a shot. I’m not really doing this out of the blue. I’ve finally got my dad convinced by winning big in that last fencing competition I had last month.” Mark remembers. Jackson would train for days on end after school, with no time for anyone. It hurt, of course it hurt a bit, but it was worth it to see Jackson come out victorious in his final match. (It was also worth the week full of teasing from the friend group. Mark was the only one to ever go to Jackson’s competitions, but this one just  _ happened  _ to be recorded and uploaded to the internet for the world to see: Mark and his stupidly big smile along with his even bigger banner, the name  _ Wang Jiaer _ scribbled across it in black paint.)

“Mom has a cousin living in New York City and she thinks it’s the perfect birthday gift to let me at least try. I have money saved up too, 1K, for any expenses I’d need that my host can’t afford. I’d really like to buy a car but I don’t think I’d really need it. I’ve read you can get through New York City a lot by train and a whole two dollars and seventy five cents.”

The whole thing is a lot to take in but Mark takes a deep breath, the waves of worry starting to drift away. He has a plan. A real plan. “Why have you been avoiding me so much lately?”

“I was scared, aha.” He moves his bangs to the side and it makes him seem oh so more cute. “I knew you wouldn’t be on board so I didn’t know if I should ask you to come along. I wasn’t really ready for rejection.”

A lump forms in his throat. Mark rejecting Jackson? A funny thought. His voice becomes quiet and it’s a shocker Jackson can hear him. “You really want me to go with you?”

“Of course. You’re the closest thing to a soulmate I’ve ever had.”

Mark snuggles further into Jackson. He should really go into acting, the elder thinks, because anything he says manages to make his heart flutter like nothing else. There’s this new nervous feeling boiling away in his stomach and it’s not because Jackson’s just asked him to “run away” with him but because he’s so close with skin so soft and a scent so pretty. He really wants to kiss him.

“Let’s go to the beach first. I’ll decide then.”

Jackson hums in content. He’s the first to kiss him, a soft touch to the forehead, but it leaves Mark more happy than he thinks he’s ever felt.


End file.
